Kemba Walker is now eligible for a five-year super-max contract projected to be worth $221 million over five years. Will the Hornets offer it? Would he accept it? Difficult decisions for both sides as he enters free agency this summer.

The Wizards dodged a bullet with Bradley Beal placing a fairly distant seventh among guards for three All-NBA spots. A super-max extension for him would have been too large a commitment right now, and not offering it threatened to alienate him. Forces would have been pushing toward a trade. Now, Washington’s options with Beal – who has two years left on his contract – are wide open. If he continues to play well and earns All-NBA in a future season, the Wizards could justify giving him the super-max then.

Likewise, the Warriors avoid their payroll skyrocketing as far into the stratosphere. Klay Thompson didn’t make All-NBA and therefore his max contract is capped at five years, projected $190 million. Considering he seems so happy in Golden State, the extra spending power of the super-max likely would have only cost the Warriors money without actually making Thompson more likely to stay.

Karl-Anthony Towns missed his last chance to trigger the super-max in his rookie scale extension, which will pay him a projected $158 million over the next five seasons. He would have earned about $32 million more with an All-NBA selection. The Timberwolves now have Towns secured at the lower amount. They surely hope the sense of urgency he showed late this season persists.

Damian Lillard has clinched eligibility to sign a super-max extension this offseason (four years, projected $193 million) or the 2020 offseason (five years, projected $250 million). He’ll reportedly ink the deal this summer with the Trail Blazers.

Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo will be eligible in the 2020 offseason for a super-max extension projected to be worth $250 million over five years. He’ll probably sign it. But until he does, all eyes will be on him.

Anthony Davis can this offseason sign a five-year, super-max extension projected to be worth $235 million with the Pelicans. He doesn’t want to. David Griffin has made noise about keeping Davis into 2020 free agency. But because he missed All-NBA this season, Davis isn’t guaranteed to be super-max-eligible then. He’d have to make All-NBA next season. So, New Orleans would have less of an upper hand in re-signing him – which makes a risky strategy even riskier.

The actual All-NBA teams look good to me. I would have picked Bradley Beal and Jrue Holiday over Russell Westbrook and Kemba Walker, but it was close. I have no significant complaints about the players chosen.

The Suns have accidentally struggled their way into a strong young core.

That’s the marvel of the NBA’s system, which rewards bad teams with high draft picks.

Phoenix nailed a mid-round pick in Devin Booker then accidentally stumbled into No. 1 pick Deandre Ayton and a top-seven pick in the upcoming draft. The Suns might even get another high draft pick or two while those young players are still developing.

We need to add guys in their prime. We need to raise the floor of our team. And you only do that with NBA players – not prospects, but NBA players. So, we’ll focus on acquiring those guys via all the channels we can.

Yes, NBA players in their prime make far more of an immediate difference than prospects. But it’s unlikely Phoenix can attract, this summer, veterans who’ll lead to meaningful winning.

The Suns could acquire veterans who help them win 15 more games next season. That’s a ton! That’d still mean going 34-48 and missing the playoffs. Would Phoenix really feel good about that?

Those veterans would be expensive, maybe for years to come. They’d help the team get a worse draft pick. If acquired in a trade, they’d probably cost young players and/or draft picks.

The Suns aren’t close enough to winning to take this approach. They need to nail their first-round pick and develop their young players.

Those veterans Jones wants all started as young players. Group enough of them in the same age range, and they peak together. That’s when real winning happens. But just adding a couple marginal veterans to an otherwise-unready team doesn’t help enough.

Maybe Phoenix can land a true difference-making star. That’d be a completely different story. It also seems highly unlikely the Suns can lure a player like that.

This sounds like Phoenix is trying to be good both now and later, which rarely works. The Suns are going everywhere, therefore nowhere.

“I am thrilled to welcome Monty Williams to the Suns family as our next head coach,” Suns GM James Jones said in a statement. “Monty brings a wealth of NBA experience, both as a coach and former player, in addition to being a high-character individual who will infuse basketball wisdom and life lessons into our locker room. Monty is well respected for his coaching pedigree, leadership and commitment to the community, all of which make him the ideal person to lead our team moving forward.”

Williams will stay working with the 76ers through the end of their playoff run before turning his focus to Phoenix. He reportedly has a five-year contract in Phoenix.

Williams replaces Igor Kokoskov, who was with the Suns for just one season. The Suns are notorious for coach and front office turnover — and shaky decision making — under meddling owner Robert Sarver. While the Suns are preaching how Saver is going to step back and let the basketball people make basketball decisions, around the league the reactions to that are variations of “I’ll believe it when I see it.”

A former NBA player himself, Williams spent five years as the head coach in New Orleans during the Chris Paul era, transitioning into the Anthony Davis era. It a job where he was hired for Jeff Bower, the new guy at the top of the Phoenix Suns basketball operations team. Williams is incredibly well respected around the NBA, well liked by players, and he is good at player development, something the Suns need to take steps forward.

The Suns have potential with a young core built around Devin Booker, Deandre Ayton, and now Kelly Oubre Jr. They need a point guard and a lot more talent, but there is the potential. If they stick with a plan for once.

Williams was a frontrunner for the Lakers head coaching job, but the market has likely pushed GM Rob Pelinka now toward his other choice, Tyronn Lue.

Igor Kokoskov worked 18 years as an NBA assistant coach. The Serbia native worked tirelessly to convince teams he was more than just a mentor for European players. Finally, the Suns hired him as their head coach.

His time as an NBA head coach is over already, and he might not get another opportunity. Kokoskov is the first coach to get fired after his first season as an NBA head coach since Mike Dunlap with Charlotte in 2013.

Here’s every coach to get fired after only one season, or less, of his first head-coaching job since the NBA-ABA merger. Interim seasons count only if the coach was retained the following year.

Of the 21 coaches fired in or following their first season as an NBA head coach, only five – Keith Smart, Mike D’Antoni, Johnny Davis, Bill Musselman and Jack McKinney – got another head-coaching job. Kokoskov faces long odds.

At least he got to finish the season. Phoenix had a late 5-2 stretch that included wins over the Bucks and Warriors. That could be a selling point for Kokoskov.

Randy Ayers (2003-04 76ers), Gar Heard (1999-00 Wizards), Jerry Tarkanian (1992-93 Spurs), Morris McHone (1983-84 Spurs), Bill Musselman (1980-81 Cavaliers), Bob Hopkins (1977-78 Seattle SuperSonics) and Tates Locke (1976-77 Buffalo Braves) all got fired during their first seasons as NBA head coaches. Jack McKinney (1979-80 Lakers) lost his job due to a bicycle crash during the season, and Los Angeles officially fired him after the season to keep Paul Westhead, who guided the team to a title in McKinney’s absence.

The Suns weren’t necessarily wrong to fire Kokoskov. Under his watch, they were sloppy and undisciplined and had chemistryproblems – areas where the head coach usually gets credit or blame. General manager James Jones deserves a chance to hire his own coach.

Kokoskov might be a good coach. Even if he’s not, he could grow into one.

But he didn’t do enough to secure his job, as tall as that task might have been.

The above list is filled with coaches who had awful records. McKinney is the only one with a winning record, and his situation was complicated by the bike crash. Michael Curry (2008-09 Pistons) is only first-time head coach to take his team to the playoffs and still get fired since the merger, but Detroit had a losing record and got swept in the first round.

In many ways, it’s unfortunate Kokoskov didn’t get a better chance to prove himself. His job security took a major hit when the Suns fired the general manager, Ryan McDonough, who hired Kokoskov before the coach’s first season even began. Kokoskov survived rumors of a potential firing in February, but that was clearly only a stay of execution.

The Suns’ problems go way above the head coach, and Kokoskov’s experience in Phoenix could dissuade potential candidates from replacing him.

But there are only 30 NBA head-coaching jobs. Except for the most-coveted candidates, many coaches would rush to take this job.

Following a 19-63 season where the man who hired him — GM Ryan McDonough — was already shown the door, there was a lot of speculation that coach Igor Kokoskov was next on the chopping block.

That happened Monday night, the Suns decided to move on from Kokoskov.

“After extensive evaluation, I determined it is best to move in a different direction with our head coaching position,” said Suns general manager James Jones in a statement. “I want to thank Igor for his work this past season and wish him the best with his future endeavors.”

Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN added some detail.

Suns had planned to bring Kokoskov back for a second season, especially after the team's stronger play in late stages of the season. Kokoskov has been a well-respected tactician who becomes another victim of the constant turnover in Phoenix. https://t.co/OgHCTGCTH7

Here's a factor in the timing of Kokoskov's dismissal: The Suns are planning to target Philadelphia 76ers assistant Monty Williams, league sources tell ESPN. Lakers are planning a second interview with Williams soon, sources said.

Williams will have his second interview with the Lakers next week. Williams is rumored in some quarters to be the frontrunner for the Los Angeles job (he and Tyronn Lue will have second interviews coming), the Suns are starting this race from behind but do have a relationship there.

Kokoskov was the first European born person to be a head coach in the NBA. He was Luka Doncic‘s national team coach, but the Suns took Deandre Ayton No. 1 (reportedly at the urging of owner Robert Saver).

Kokoskov was handed a young roster that lacked a point guard or solid veteran leader, so it’s no surprise the Suns and Kokoskov got off to a slow start, going 4-18 and looking a mess. However, the team improved, Kelly Oubre Jr. was added, and the Suns went an improved 8-15 after the All-Star break, including wins against the Bucks and Warriors. Devin Booker improved, Deandre Ayton was growing, and the team showed improvement. That said, there were questions about Kokoskov’s rotations and communication with players.

Phoenix, with meddling owner Robert Sarver at the helm, is known for turnover and instability — whoever is hired next will be the team’s seventh head coach in eight years. This move just fits right in with the perception.